Download speed help required

Adrian_london

Hi everyone.

I have recently moved home and have had broadband installed. I have a 2mb broadband connection and after running numerous speed tests I am only getting roughly 900 Kbps. When I was living in my old home I was getting roughly 1700-1800 Kbps. I've been told that the figures I was getting in my old home are correct.

Is there any way of finding out why I'm getting such slow speeds?

I have a funny feeling I don't live anywhere near the exchange (gut instincts).

Any help would be appreciated.

Cheers



PS. I've tried using the following speed tests.........

http://www.adslguide.org.uk/tools/speedtest.asp

http://www.speedtester.bt.com/cgi-bin/home.page.pl

http://www.zensupport.co.uk/speedtest/results.asp

woo

http://www.dslzoneuk.net/distance.php should tell you how far from the exchange you are on and if you check your phone number should be able to check what speeds you might expect.

Rex_Mundi

Try the BT speedtest. This will test your line speed before you connect to your ISP.

Instructions................

Disconnect your broadband service from your Service Provider

Connect to the Speedtester domain by entering speedtest@speedtest_domain in the userID field in your connection window, no password is required. Make sure you remember your ISP login details

Once connected, open a web browser and enter the the speedtester URL ( http://speedtester.bt.com/ ) to access the speedtester server. Your homepage, or any normal websites wont load on this network, only the speedtest page.

Follow the instructions, and run the test. After, you need to logout from BT, and log back in to your ISP.

Adrian_london

Thank you both for your help.

I am 1.25km away from the exchange as the crow flies (I'm not sure if this is that far - doesn't seem it)

I'm going to do the other test today sometime.



Cheers

BTW Would it make a difference if there is a long wire going from my ADSL modem to the wall socket? (my pc is in one room and my wall socket is in another)

woo

no doesn't seem far at all - I am 2.56km away from my exchange, modem synchs @ 4Mbs and download between 2.5-3Mbs, so would seem something not quite right.

Is the modem plugged into the main (master) socket in the house? the long cable may well impact on the speed is there any way you can try and plug the pc directly into the socket?

dazza32

lol everyone just checked my speed test and im 775 metres is that far ? as my speed seems sorta slow

A_Nice_Englishman

Remember that telephone lines don't follow the same routes as crows! The actual distance is likely to be considerably longer. A few metres of cable longer or shorter within your house shouldn't make any difference bearing in mind there are several km between there and trhe exchange.

The 2MB is the speed as which data can travel from your local exchange to your modem/router. The maximum speed at which it can travel from a computer elsewhere on the Internet will depend on congestion between that computer and you. From what you say, it sounds like there could be plenty of capacity to your old exchange but not so much to your new one.

Rex_Mundi

A_Nice_Englishman wrote:

Remember that telephone lines don't follow the same routes as crows! The actual distance is likely to be considerably longer.

This is true. The link posted for distance from the exchange only gives the distance as the crow flys. It doesn't take into account the route your line takes from the exchange to your house. This could be many times longer than the shortest distance!

woo wrote:

I am 2.56km away from my exchange, modem synchs @ 4Mbs and download between 2.5-3Mbs, so would seem something not quite right.

This bears no relevence to the OPs situation. You are comparing two different products (ADSL, and ADSL Max). The speed you can get on Max bears no relevence to the speed you get on ADSL, and visa versa.

.......................

Many things can cause slow internet speeds. It could be your ISP, your BT exchange, or something in your house (dodgy equipment, lines, or a problem with your computer) causing a slowdown. You need to eliminate one by one to try to narrow the problem down.

First, run speedtests at different times of the day. Keep a record of the results. This could point out any contention problems.

Before/after doing an internet speedtest, run the BT speedtest I pointed out. If the BT speedtest shows good speeds, and the internet test is slow, the problem is likely to be with your ISP. If the BT test is the same slow speed as the internet test, this could point to problems at your end, or with your BT exchange, or line. Keep a note of these results.

Try rebooting your modem or router. Leave it completely disconnected (completely unplugged) for 15 to 30 minutes then reconnect. Sometimes this puts you on a different part of your ISP network and can help.

Try moving the computer and plugging it in to the main BT socket without any other connections. If this speeds things up. It could point to a problem in your house.

Make sure your computer is fully protected (antivirus, and antispyware). Update these and make sure your computer is not infected with anything. Infected computers sometimes slow down an internet connection.

Try all of these for a couple of days, and if nothing works, contact your ISP.

A_Nice_Englishman

Rex_Mundi wrote:

Many things can cause slow internet speeds. It could be your ISP, your BT exchange, or something in your house (dodgy equipment, lines, or a problem with your computer) causing a slowdown. You need to eliminate one by one to try to narrow the problem down.
.

Can dodgy wiring affect the speed of an ADSL (not Max ADSL) connection? I thought it either synched at the specified speed or not.

Poppycat

Thats true it can.

I dont no the exact difference from me to exchange but its about 8 minutes walk way, but if I walked the distance it is via the telephone cable from my house its more like double that, yet my mate (who works for BT who lives up the street from me) is further away form the exchange but his cable distance is shorter as it comes a different route. He told me this as he installs cables and connections

A_Nice_Englishman wrote:

Remember that telephone lines don't follow the same routes as crows! The actual distance is likely to be considerably longer.

Rex_Mundi

A_Nice_Englishman wrote:

Can dodgy wiring affect the speed of an ADSL (not Max ADSL) connection? I thought it either synched at the specified speed or not.

Many things can affect ADSL in the house as well as ADSL Max. Long wires away from the socket can be one of them along with.........

Dodgy filter, poor wiring, poor quality phone/fax interfering, home alarm system interfering, old phone sockets.

This is why finding the cause of a speed problem is a process of elimination.